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this is a training series for instructional designers. it doesn't need any major preliminary knowledge of theories. approximate duration - 1.5 hours. the training is meant to help IDs consider a different way of looking at and understanding curriculum and teaching.
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Curriculum as Narrative
Part 1: The Mechanics of Stories
StoriesMechanics
Narrative, Story and Plot
Differences and Characteristics
PlotSequence and causality of events or incidents
You cannot have a plot without characters.
Characters may sometimes even drive the plot.
Image from www.imdb.com
Story
Events, actions, time, locations
Image from www.imdb.com
Narrative
• Narrative = story + discourse
• Discourse refers to: – How the story is told– Arrangement, emphasis, de-emphasis– Magnification/ diminution
Image from www.xkcd.com
Settings and Scenes
Differences and Characteristics
Setting
• Related to the plot
• Also part of story theme
• Whether something is plausible in the story is determined by the setting
• A section of the discourse: represents a portion of a story
Scene
Characters and Plots
Interesting Aspects
Characterisation
• Round or flat– Extent of exploration of the inner life of the character – Degree of complexity – Extent of development
• Structural or ideological function to the theme
• Characterisation is linked to script and performance.
Rules for Framing a Plot
• "Aesthetic unity in a plot”
• Everything in a plot should:– Be relevant– Contribute to the meaning of the whole story
• Causality and temporal succession in plot not as important as the sequence of the audience's perceptions, projections, and integrations of the story.
Varying Degrees of Plot Complexity
Rising action
Climax
Falling actionImage from
www.imdb.com
Varying Degrees of Plot Complexity
Exposition
Initiating moment
Developing conflict
ClimaxDenouement
Image from www.imdb.com
Best Practices
Story-Writing
Planning Characters
• All characters must be distinct and properly defined.
• In an action story: – Personality– Specialty– Relationships– Always wants– Loves who/ what– Afraid of– Motivation for dangerous missions
Would this set of aspects to think about change for a ‘teaching story’? Can you come up with a list of aspects you think suit elearning stories better?
Structure
1. Hook2. Inciting incident3. Conflict or situation4. Escalation of events5. Resolution6. Conclusion
Hook
Inciting incident Climax
Conclusion
Image from www.xkcd.com
Building in the Drama
• Starting scene:Show only what’s important, start into the scene as late as possible
• Rising action: Events, elements, danger, complications become bigger with the story’s progression
• Suspense: What the audience knows but the character doesn’t that creates tension.
• Surprise: What the audience doesn’t know but the character does that startles the audience.
• Melodrama: The essence of melodrama is compactness.
Aspects to Check
• Story essence: What is the main plot of the story?
• Screen list: What are the critical scenes?
• Compactness: Which screens can be compressed or combined?
Ess.er.cisesCan You Fix The Story?
Is This a Story?
He found her orange flats in the closet under his boots. That’s when he gave in to letting her go.
Each lung breathed in the worn leather and forced it back out along with shared memories, stacked as weakened bricks already crumbling.
He was meant to feel each one fall.
Credit: Tamra Atelia Martin ‘Forgotten Shoes’
Is This a Story?
“Frederick, your bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired.”He turned to encounter Miss Stone, aged some, but sharp-tongued as ever.“Your patient is my twin sister who fell ill yesterday.”“B-B-But,” he stuttered.“You thought it was me in the wheelchair?” she interrupted.“Two of them?” he thought.
Credit: John B Sinclair ‘Payback(Part 2)’
Is This a Story?
For centuries, the oldest ghost in the world lived undisturbed, in a green-slimed abandoned stairwell. Then the tourists came and she had to move.
She is fading.
Credit: Nila
Is This a Story?
It was a dark and stormy night. As the Kumars slept, a spacecraft landed in their yard, planted its seed, and left.
As the poisonous pollen sack swelled for dispersal and mass destruction, their dog Woofy strolled out and peed at the stem.
Credit: Aravind Krishnaswamy ‘Poison Ivy and Nature’s Call’
Exploring Content Chunks
Objective: Train a shop-floor employee on how to do stretches.
• What would the story elements be if you had a story for the scene of someone doing stretches?
• Can you find all of the story elements from the raw content given? Are any missing?
• After getting all of the needed elements, how would you link them in narrative?
• Can you draw out your learning curriculum from the narrative’s sequence?
The End of Part 1What’s Next?
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